Matt Weidler

Matthew was born April 24, 1983 in Orange , California. He graduated from Friends Christian School in Yorba Linda where he competed on the track team. During those years he also played Little league baseball and National Junior Basketball. He is a graduate of Troy High school in Fullerton where he completed the troy Tech Program. He was active in the Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp, having served as Squad Leader, Platoon commander and Company Commander. He attained the rank of Lieutenant commander. For his leadership abilities he was awarded the "Outstanding Naval Science Cadet" for 3 years, "NJROTC Aptitude Award" for 3 years, "Honor Cadet" by the Retired Officers Association and the American Legion "Military Excellence" award. He attended leadership academies in San Diego and Honolulu, Hawaii. Matthew has also participated in dramatic productions.

Matthew started on his Scouting trail in 1st grade in a Tiger Cub den. He continued into cub Scouting in 2nd grade in a Wolf den and later joined Bear and Webelos dens as his advancement continued. He earned the Arrow of Light, the highest award that can be earned in Cub Scouting.

Since joining troop 778, Matthew has enjoyed 57 nights of camping, hiked 125 miles and spent more than 97 hours working on service projects besides his own Eagle Scout service project. The highlight of his camping career was the canoeing trip in Canada in 1998. His leadership rolls include Patrol Leader, Troop Guide and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader. He also attended Junior Leadership training and earned that award.

For his Eagle Project, Matthew led fellow scouts in building wooden equipment carts for ball storage for his former elementary school, Friends Christian School in Yorba Linda. After he planned and organized the preliminary project, he raised money for the project by organizing 20 fellow scouts to provide child care at a local church during a special event. Matthew then recruited, instructed and supervised scout volunteers to cut, sand, assemble and paint the equipment carts. This project encompassed 177 man-hours. Matthew earned his Eagle rank on November 2, 2000.

In the fall, Matthew will attend California State University Fullerton where he will major in History. His parents, sisters Wendy, Julie and Beth Ann and relatives are very proud of him.


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The Eagle Scout Award is the highest award award a young man can earn in the Boy Scout program. To earn the Eagle, a boy must first earn the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star and Life. He must earn a minimum of 21 merit badges, including twelve required badges: Camping, First Aid, communications, Family Life, Personal Management, Safety, Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science, Swimming and Citizenship in the Community in the Nation, and in the World. In addition, there are character and leadership requirements that must be demonstrated in daily life. The Eagle candidate must develop and carry out a service project that will benefit his church, school, or community. Only 2 % of all Scouts receive the Eagle rank.

What I Learned as a Leader...

My Eagle Scout Project was a huge time consumer that often took a large portion of my time. But I feel that that is one of the most important traits I've learned about leadership. No matter what project you find yourself involved in, the role of leader will always be the most time consuming. They must be present for every meeting that involves the project. But one of the most nerve racking realities of leadership is that everything is your responsibility. The project is your fault, not matter what happens. If the project goes smoothly it's because the leader invested a good amount of time and care into making it happen. If the project goes poorly it's because the leader didn't make a good enough effort to do what was right. He was selfish about his time and wasn't concerned about his responsibility. Generally this is true though; if the leader is inspired then this reflects through the people who are helping him. Inspired people often inspire others with just their presence and their smile.